At events such as concerts or theatre productions, winches are commonly used for support, movement and manipulation of performers and various equipment, such as, lighting, sound, scenery and props. Winches are selected based on specifications such as the weight of a load to be moved and the speed at which the load must be moved. Winches with higher torque are needed for heavier loads; however, higher torque winches have lower speeds at which the load may be moved in order to provide the higher torque. Winches with higher speeds are needed for loads which must be moved quickly; however, high speed winches sacrifice torque in order to provide the higher speed. Winches are generally only suitable to provide a particular combination of torque and speed (high torque/low speed, intermediate torque/intermediate speed, or high speed/low torque). As such, additional winches must be kept on hand in the event that a different torque/speed profile is needed. Keeping additional winches on hand is an expensive proposition, as the cost of the spare winches must be considered as well as the cost of maintenance of the spare winches.
What is needed is a winch apparatus and method of adjusting a winch apparatus that do not suffer from one or more of the above drawbacks in the art.